The Foreign Exchange and Import Crisis Raises Living Costs and Confronts the Port Sudan Authorities with Market Anger
Sudan’s economic crisis is entering a more sensitive phase as pressure on the foreign exchange market persists, and the gap widens between the resources available to finance imports and the economy’s actual needs. In areas administered by the Port Sudan authorities, the consequences are no longer confined to banks or currency markets. They are evident throughout daily life, from bread, cooking oil and sugar prices to transport fares and production costs.
The core problem is the imbalance between exports and imports. The economy needs foreign currency to finance imported goods and services, but export earnings are insufficient to cover those needs. Figures for the first half of 2026 illustrate the imbalance clearly: exports totalled approximately $1.816 billion, while imports exceeded $4.516 billion.
The economy therefore continually needs additional sources of foreign currency, whether through remittances, reserves or other financial inflows. This comes at a time when production and trade capacity are under severe pressure from the war, damaged infrastructure, and fragmented markets.
Citizens Pay the Price of the Economic Imbalance
When demand for dollars rises while supply falls, obtaining them becomes more expensive. Importers must spend more Sudanese pounds to purchase the same amount of foreign currency. The increase then feeds into the price of goods.
The process may begin as a financial one, but its consequences are social. Consumers buying flour, cooking oil or sugar do not directly see what happens in the foreign exchange market, but they see its effects on their shopping bills.
As prices continue to rise, household incomes become less able to cover essential needs. A salary that once paid for a substantial share of monthly expenses quickly becomes inadequate as market prices change. Families are forced to reorder their priorities, postpone certain needs and cut spending on education, healthcare, clothing and other items to preserve their food and transport budgets.
Business owners also face growing pressure. Importers need more capital to purchase the same quantities, traders must repeatedly reprice their goods, and domestic producers face higher raw material, energy and transport costs.
The Pound Under Pressure from Both Sides
The pound’s depreciation is not the result of a single factor. War has weakened production, exports have declined, and foreign exchange reserves are limited, while demand for imports remains high. The African Development Bank has identified persistently weak export earnings and strong foreign currency demand as major sources of pressure on Sudan’s currency, alongside continuing external and fiscal imbalances.
As the pound weakens, imported goods become more expensive. The effects are not limited to direct imports, however. Locally produced goods may also rise in price when they depend on imported inputs, fuel or spare parts priced in foreign currencies.
This spreads inflation more widely across the economy. A weak currency raises costs; higher costs push up prices; higher prices reduce purchasing power; and weaker purchasing power depresses demand and commercial activity.
Data published in July 2026 indicate that annual inflation reached 51.28% in June, with widespread increases in consumer goods prices alongside the pound’s depreciation.
Markets Face Limited Liquidity and Weak Demand
The paradox in Sudan’s markets is that rising prices do not necessarily mean higher profits for traders. In many cases, the cost of replenishing stock rises enough to make profit margins more precarious.
A trader who bought goods at a particular price a week earlier may find that the same quantity can no longer be purchased at that cost. Selling existing stock at the old price could leave the trader unable to replenish it. Prices are therefore set according to replacement cost: the amount the trader expects to pay to buy the goods again.
This mechanism heightens consumers’ sense that prices are rising, while also reflecting a deeper market problem: the loss of price stability.
As purchasing power declines, consumers reduce their purchases, leaving businesses with a difficult equation: higher costs and weaker demand. If this persists, trade may slow, and some small businesses may close or scale back their operations.
Fuel Carries Inflation into Every Sector
Fuel is one of the most sensitive issues. Difficulties securing the foreign currency needed for imports or settling payments to suppliers can disrupt supplies, particularly when domestic refining capacity is limited and damaged.
Reports in September 2026 recorded the return of fuel queues in Khartoum and several other areas, alongside the dollar exceeding 8,000 pounds on the parallel market.
Fuel has a wide-ranging impact because it is used in transport, production and services. Trucks carrying flour, sugar or cooking oil between regions need fuel; factories need energy; farmers need fuel to operate machinery; and citizens rely on transport to reach their workplaces or markets.
Higher fuel prices therefore do more than add to transport costs: they reshape costs across the entire economy.
In August 2026, several states announced reductions in the prices of certain petroleum products after the central bank intervened to provide the foreign currency needed for fuel imports. This illustrates how closely energy prices are linked to the foreign exchange market.
Food at the Heart of the Crisis
When flour, cooking oil and sugar prices rise, citizens feel that the crisis has moved from the economy to the family table. These goods are not luxuries whose purchase can easily be postponed, so higher prices directly strain household budgets.
Market monitoring reports indicate that flour, cooking oil, sugar and fuel prices increased during 2026, alongside reduced availability of certain goods.
Flour prices, for example, depend on more than wheat alone. They include transport, milling, energy, storage and related charges. When the pound depreciates, every import-linked component becomes more expensive.
The same applies to cooking oil and sugar, while higher fuel prices increase the cost of transporting and distributing these products. Cost increases therefore accumulate before the goods reach consumers.
Import Restrictions Further Complicate the Picture
Imports also face restrictions and procedures that can impose additional burdens on the market. During 2026, Sudanese importers criticised government decisions banning imports of more than 40 goods, arguing that the measures had failed to stabilise the exchange rate and had added to price pressures.
Economically, restrictions on non-essential goods can help reduce demand for foreign currency. Their success, however, depends on the products targeted and the ability of domestic production to provide alternatives.
If restrictions reduce supply, prices may rise rather than fall. In a market already affected by currency weakness and high transport costs, any additional shortage can create opportunities for speculation, stock hoarding or price increases.
Taxes and duties add another layer of costs. As import-related charges rise, final prices increase, leaving consumers to bear a substantial share of the burden.
Could Economic Pressure Become Political Pressure?
For the Port Sudan authorities, the problem is not only their ability to manage the market, but also their ability to convince citizens that economic measures are leading towards a sustainable solution.
People do not assess the success of economic policies solely through official indicators. Their daily benchmarks are bread prices, fuel availability, goods prices, transport fares and their families’ ability to afford what they need.
The continuing crisis can therefore fuel domestic discontent, particularly if people feel that government measures are producing no tangible improvement in their lives.
The central bank has already taken steps to provide foreign currency to banks and finance imports, including injections of foreign currency funds during 2026. Monetary intervention remains a temporary remedy, however, unless it is accompanied by sustained growth in production and exports.
Ultimately, the foreign exchange crisis is a crisis of economic capacity. As long as imports exceed exports and foreign currency resources remain limited, the pound will remain under pressure, prices will remain vulnerable to further increases, and citizens will remain the weakest link in the chain.
Addressing economically driven domestic anger therefore requires more than injecting foreign currency or imposing market restrictions. It calls for rebuilding production, restoring exports, improving the trading environment, ensuring stable fuel supplies, easing the tax burden and, above all, restoring citizens’ purchasing power.
